The present invention relates to a modified Ping-Pong.RTM. type table or table tennis game, and more particularly, to a game which requires special skills and strategies not required in ordinary table tennis games, thus adding to the level of enjoyment and competition.
In the traditional Ping-Pong.RTM. or table tennis game, paddles are used by participants to hit a ball back and forth over a net extending across a horizontal table surface. The ball can be allowed to bounce once on the table before being returned over the net by one player towards the other player, who may allow the ball to touch the table surface once before returning it in a like fashion. Points are won by one player if the other player hits the ball into the net or off of the table, if the ball bounces twice on the other player's side before it is returned, or if the other player is otherwise unable to successfully return the ball. Although this game is widely enjoyed by many people and can be extremely competitive depending upon the skill level of the participants, various attempts have been made to make the game more challenging or more interesting.
One such modification involves playing one or more vertical side walls along the sides of a traditional Ping-Pong.RTM. table. In play, the ball is hit off one of the side walls and then over to the opponent's side, rather than traveling directly over the net to the opponent. While such a variation does serve to alter the game, these side walls merely provide an alternate rebounding or ricochet surface. The ball typically rebounds off the side walls in a relatively predictable fashion, and at a speed that is usually the same speed as if the ball had been bounced off of the regular horizontal table surface.
Therefore, a need exists for a modified table tennis game that requires an even greater degree of skill and strategy, thereby increasing the level of enjoyment and competition involved in playing the game.